‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ review: How can a film be so stunning, yet so disappointing?

With the first two films in the Avatar franchise, Cameron introduced a fantastic new sci-fi world that I loved getting lost in. I became curious about every new piece of Pandoran flora and fauna introduced by the films. Bioluminescent trees? Wonderful. Floating mountains? Sign me up. Benevolent space whale? I think I’m in love.

These amazing creations came to life through groundbreaking technology, such as Avatar: The Path of WaterUnderwater motion capture, also brand new. There’s a lot of “new” stuff to go around.

so why is it Avatar: Fire and AshesThe third film in the series, such a rehash of what came before?

Opponents of the franchise may find this question ridiculous. After all, a common complaint about Avatar is it just ferngali Or Pocahontas Or dances with WolvesBut in space. (while there are many concrete criticism of AvatarThese comparisons do not in themselves offer any strong criticism, but I digress.) However, fire and ashes cannibalizes former incarnation The best set pieces and story beats from the films, resulting in a film that, while undeniably great, leans too heavily on its previous installments as opposed to the new Pandoran elements that could have made it truly special.

What is? Avatar: Fire and Ashes About this?

fire and ashes It was a promising start. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) are still mourning their son Netaim (Jamie Flatters), who passed away. Avatar: The Path of WaterClimax fight. His younger brother Lok (Britten Dalton) takes this loss particularly seriously, believing it to be his fault.

While strong characterization is obviously the last thing I came to Avatar for, this sense of familial grief proves to be a key moment to kick off the film. Cameron let the characters sit in their loss, exploring the varying degrees of anger and pain that comes with Netem’s death. Neytiri leans more towards the former, while Jake and Lok lean towards the latter. The dynamics between them are tense as can be, as they hope to rebuild their lives with the Metkayina clan living at sea without one of their main pieces.

But danger is not long in coming for Sulis. This time, it’s not just in the form of humans, including Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who is still in his regenerated Na’vi body. Instead, it is also known as the Mangquan or Ash People, a Na’vi clan that has abandoned the Pandoran goddess Eva and has launched hostile raids on other clans.

The people are the most exciting part of this Avatar: Fire and Ashes,

The Mangkwan clan provides a way for Cameroon to further expand upon the people of Pandora, the way the Metkayina clan did water wayBut while Metkyina had at least some similarities AvatarThis is a shock to the system in terms of how the forest-dwelling Omatikaya clan lives in harmony with Pandora, Mangkwan.

After a devastating volcanic eruption that destroyed their home, the Ache people turned their backs on Iowa. Now, they only worship the destructive power of fire. With their ashy-grey skin, striking red body color and fighting methods, they are a sharp contrast to other Na’vi we have seen.

Mashable Top Stories

They are led by Varang (Oona Chaplin), a scene-stealing sorceress who immediately takes fire and ashes On a new level. At times charming and seductive, at times downright terrifying, Chaplin’s performance creates a science-fiction villain for the ages.

She only gets better when she and Mangquan join forces with Quaritch. Lange reliably delivers the funniest performance in Avatar Movies (Nothing But Respect) My Papa Dragon), and that trend continues here. He chews the scenery and spews Southern-tinged one-liners like it’s nobody’s business, and Chaplin more than matches his energy. As the two become more than just allies, they also transform Jake and Neytiri’s own relationship into an intoxicating – and much more fun – failure.

However, disappointingly, the Mangkwan receive much less development than the Omatikya or Metkayina clans. We do not get to know in depth even a single member of the tribe beyond Varang. Nor do we spend much time in their village, an impressively desolate wasteland broken up by barren trees and the jagged ruins of their volcano. called for a movie Avatar: Fire and AshesThere is much less fire and ash than I expected.

Avatar: Fire and Ashes Recycles the best parts of Avatar: The Path of Water,

As the Ashes fade into the background, Cameron brings the story back to the forefront water way Perhaps it would have been better to leave it deep. Why do we need a retelling of Pyakan saving Loak who is trapped under the sea by Tulkun? Or the Tulkun brain-harvesting conspiracy of the RDA? For that matter, how did cartoon-like evil hunter Mike Scoresby (Brendan Cowell) avoid being killed by Pyakan?

These stories worked wonders Water way. New villains in Predator and new creatures in Tulkun set the stage for an amazing naval battle that still makes my heart skip a beat and my lungs hurt just thinking about it. Here, however, Cameron tries to do all that again, but even bigger. Yet all I could think about for the entirety of the third act was how it felt water wayStellar conclusion of – up to the presence of some sets – and how much better water way Pulled it.

The last sequence, which also has some colors AvatarClimax performance begins to show the limits of incarnation series. There are only so many times we get to see Jake and Quaritch clash, or watch Pandora’s wildlife emerge from the deus ex machina. Three films have come out and the stakes need to change.

Avatar: Fire and Ashes It is still a stunning sight.

Here’s the thing: If I had seen fire and ashes without seeing water wayI was in constant awe. The entire final battle is underwhelming in a vacuum – it simply pales in comparison to the strangely similar set piece from its predecessor.

thankfully, fire and ashes Gifts us some excellent new developments on Pandora. The Mangquan, like the Windtraders, stand out, a nomadic people who move around with the help of aerial medusae and windrays. When combined, these opalescent stunners create organic airplanes that are spectacular to behold. I was nervous seeing him in the first trailer for the movie, and seeing him onscreen made me even more nervous. Their skin flapping in the wind, their veins glowing just below… Like everything about Pandora, they’re astonishing technological achievements, and I wish we got more time with them.

At the other end of the beauty scale, we have the human city on Pandora, a bustling industrial nightmare. Its massive buildings and factories, as well as the hordes of colonialist forces, point to an increasingly bleak dystopia. A daring mission to the city gives us a deeper look at this dystopia and leads to more intense action sequences than anything we’ve seen in Avatar. Movies. Like the Ash People’s village, it is a compelling aesthetic break from the grandeur of Pandora, and a reminder of the natural beauty and ecosystems that the Na’vi are struggling to preserve. This is also a high point Because It’s very different, and it’s tempting to imagine a world where it’s fire and ashescontrary to the conclusion of water way The remix that we get.

Instead, Cameron returned to familiar ground, leaving everyone behind fire and ashesLeaving the Varang (who, I cannot emphasize enough, still rule) in the background are the most exciting newcomers.

In the end, asking seems greedy More from avatar series, with its maximalist world-building and take-no-prisoners action sequences. but after seeing fire and ashesAnd with the knowledge that there are fourth and fifth films on the way, I don’t want to settle for additional derivatives of the previous films. I want the greatness of the incarnation that I know is capable, so asking for more is exactly what I’m going to do.

Avatar: Fire and Ashes Hits theaters on December 19th.